Band-twister.



PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

W. DOUGLASS.

BAND TWISTBR.

AVPILIOATION FILED my as, 1904.

5 8HBETS-8HEET 1.

PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

W. DOUGLASS.

BAND TWISTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED MAY 2, 1905;

W. DOUGLASS. BAND TWISTER.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR: (Lu 6&9

PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

' W. DOUGLASS.

BAND TWISTBR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1004.

5 sums-sum 4.

INVENTOR'.

PATENTED MAY '2, 1905.

W. DOUGLASS. BAND TWISTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1904.

' 6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

INVENYTOR;

45 I arney Patented May 2, 1905.

"AreNr price.

VV'ILLIAM DOUGLASS, OF PHILLIPSBURG, KANSAS.

BAND-TWISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,120, dated May 2, 1905.

Original application filed June 14, 1902, Serial No. 111,721. Divided and this application filed May 28, 1904. Serial No. 210,304.

To all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM DoUeLAss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Phillipsburg, in the county of Phillips and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Band-Twisters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to twisting devices, and is designed for use particularly in connection with self-binder harvesters of the type shown in my application for patent filed June 14, 1902. Serial No. 111,721, of which application the present case is a division, although it will be understood that the twisting mechanism forming the subject-matter of the present case is capable of use wherever it is desired to twist loose strands or fibers into a band.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a twister carriage supported upon suitable tracks or runways, upon which tracks said carriage is to be reciprocated by any suitable driving means; band-grasping jaws on said carriage adapted to automatically grasp a band at the dwell of the carriage at one end of its reciprocation, twist the same during reciprocation of the carriage, and automatically release the end of the twisted band at the dwell or finish of the carriage at the other end of its reciprocation; suitable devices for imparting a rotary twisting movement to the jaws being provided, and means being provided also for causing the jaws to automatically grasp and release the band at the end of the reciprocations of the twister.

In order that my invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, to which reference will be made hereinafter, an embodiment of my invention.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the twister-carriage and its associated parts, certain portions being shown in section for clearness of illustration. Fig. 2 is a view of the twister from the opposite side of that shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and {1 are opposite end views of the twister, Fig. 4 showing also the supporting-tracks and the driving rackrail for the twister. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the supporting-tracks upon which the twisterframe reciprocates, showing the twister in position thereon. Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9 are detail views of thelatch mechanism between the driving-shaftof the twister and the ordinary gear-wheel which imparts a rotary movement to the twister-jaws. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the sliding cone for operating the twisterjaws to show the locking-plate with which said cone is provided and which cooperates with a spring lockingbolt to hold the cone in retracted position. Figs. 11 and 12 are respectively plan and front views of the lower twister-jaw, and Figs. 13 and 14% are similar views of the upper twister-jaw.

Referring to the drawings by letters, like letters indicating like parts in the several views, H denotes the supporting-tracks upon which the twister-carriage runs, said twistercarriage being supported on the tracks H by means of the horizontal arms H, said arms being provided with antifriction-rollers it at their ends. Depending from the said supporting-arms H are hangers it It, on which the twister-head proper is mounted. Said head com prises the band-straw-grasping jaws /t [1/ having toothed gripping-faces (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3) to insure a tight hold of the straw, and in order to direct the straw to the grip of the jaws 7& it the said jaw 71 is provided with an overlapping forked member h, which straddles the end of the band-straw as it is presented to the said jaws. The said twisterjaws [1/ 71/ are pivoted at the end of the twistershaft H, which is rotatably connected with a rotatable collar 76', mounted in the hanger it and provided with a bevel-pinion lb, by means of which said collar and the twister-head may be rotated. The said pinion 71f is in mesh with a gear-wheel 71. mounted on stub-shaft 71 supported in a bearing carried by a strut lb, the ends of which are secured to plates H adjustably mounted on the hangers h lb of the twister-carriage, so that by adjusting the plates H by the slot-and-bolt connections with which they are secured to the hangers h h the shaft it may be raised or lowered to permit gear-wheels 71. of different sizes to be used, and thus secure such different speeds for said shaft [L8 and its driven parts as may be desired. At its outer end said stub-shaft 7L8 has a small gear-wheel 70 which meshes with a rack it, fixed to the machine-frame, so that as the twister-carriage is moved back and forth the said stub-shaft it will be rotated. The gear-wheel [b is loosely mounted on the shaft 72, and is rotatably connected therewith by means of a spring pawl or latch 71., mounted on a collar A, fixed to the shaft it said pawl engaging a ratchet k on the said gearwheel if. The result of this construction is that when the shaft h is turned in one direction by the engagement of the gear h with the rack it the said gear-wheel 71, will be rotated and the twister-head driven. Rotation of the shaft [1 by the pinion h in the opposite direction upon the return movement of the twistercarriage will not aflect the gear-wheel b the pawl i trailing idly over the ratchet 71 The opening and closing of the twister-jaws [L2 if to grip and release the band is effected in the following manner. As has been stated, said jaws are pivoted at the forward end of the twister-shaft H (see Fig. 1,) said jaws having stiff springs it, tending to close the jaws, the springs 7t bearing at their rear ends against the inner periphery of the collar 71/ 130 give them the desired tension. The jaws [L2 It are further provided with rearwardly-projecting tailpieces 72 ,which are engaged by a sliding cone or cup 70 mounted on the shaft H, a spring it" tending to press said cone it forward to the position shown in full lines,,

Fig. 1, in which position of the cone thejaws 7L 7L will be held in the full-line open position shown. The said sliding cone h has a yoke h secured thereto, said yoke being mounted at its upper end on a sliding rod h between adjusting-nuts, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, said rod being slidingly mounted in suitable ears on the hangers it h. At one end of said sliding rod k is an upwardly-projecting arm if", which strikes a stationary projection or stop if on the machine-frame as the twister-carriage runs forward to the twisterspout Gr, throwing the sliding rod 7t and cone it to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, thus releasing the twister-jaws, which are immediately closed by their springs and grasp the end of the band as the carriage comes to a stop or dwell before beginningits return movement. A pin h on the said rod 7L engages and rides in a guard-loop if" on the carriage-frame, so as to prevent the rod it from turning in its supporting-ears and insuring the retention of the arm 73 in proper position to be struck by the stationary stop [L on the harvester-frame at all times. WVhen the rod it and cone it are moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 by the operation just described. they are locked in such position by means of a spring-bolt h mounted on the carriage-frame and resting at its lower end upon a locking-plate'h on the said yoke 7L, said locking-plate having a hole if therein, into which the bolt h drops as the plate A moves back, a guiding-rib [1/ on plate [L25 serving to direct the bolt 7L to the receiving-hole 78". At its upper end said spring-bolt [LEA is engaged by a lifting-lever 71 which is pivoted to the carriage-frame, said lever A being tilted to the position shown in dotted lines when the bolt it is forced downwardly to engage the locking-plate A25. The elevated tail of lever 72, strikes a roller or other lixed op erating device k on the harvester-frame when the twister-carriage reaches the limit of its outward movement and comes to a stop or dwell, tilting the lever 71 raising the springbolt 71, from engagement with plate if and allowing the rod-yoke it, rod 7L, and cone it to return to the position shown in full lines, Fig. 1, under the action of spring it", this movement of the cone throwing the twisterjaws open and releasing the band.

The twister-carriage and the parts mounted thereon, which have just been described, are moved forward and back on the tracks H by means of a cord 2', preferably of wire for strength and flexibility, said cord 2' being attached at either end to turnbuckles 2', ad justably secured to the twister-carriage, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The said cord '5 is connected with any suitable driving mechanism, so that a regular reciprocation, with a dwell at each end of the reciprocations, will be imparted to the twister, and as this driving mechanism may be of any suitable type so far as the present invention is concerned I do not deem it necessary to illustrate or describe the same.

It will be understood that while I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, and that the best now known to me, I do not limit my invention to the details of construction shown and described, except so far as I am limited by the terms of the appended claims, and while my twister is designed, primarily, for use in connection with the selfbinder harvester shown and described in my application hereinbefore referred to it will be obvious that the twister may be used in connection with selfbinder harvesters of other types or, in fact, wherever it is desired to form a twisted band from loose fibers or strands.

What I claim is 1. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling carriage, of band-grasping devices mounted on said carriage, means for automatically opening and closing said band-grasping devices, and means for rotating said bandgrasping devices.

2. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of band-grasping jaws mounted on said carriage, and means for rotating said jaws during the outward movement only of said carriage.

3. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of band-grasping devices mounted on said carriage, means for closing said band-grasping devices at a predetermined pointin the travel of said carriage, means for rotating said band-grasping devices, and means for opening said band-grasping devices at a predetermined point in the travel of said carriage.

4:. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of twister-jaws rotatably mounted thereon, means for closing said twisterjaws at the inner dwell of the twister-carriage to grasp the band, means for rotating said jaws, and means for opening said jaws at the outer dwell of the twister-carriage to release the band.

5. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of spring-closed twister jaws rotatably mounted thereon, means for releasing said spring-closed twisterjaws at the inner dwellof the twister-carriage to grasp a band, means for rotating said jaws, and means for openingsaid spring-closed jaws at the outer dwell of the twister-carriage to release the band.

6. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of a rotary shaft mounted therein, twister jaws pivotally mounted at the forward end of said shaft, means for automatically closing said jaws upon a band as the carriage moves forward, means for rotating said twister shaft and jaws during movement of the carriage, and means for automatically opening said jaws to release the band when the carriage reaches the limit of its outward movement.

7. In a band-twister, the combination with y a traveling twister-carriage, of a rotary shaft mounted therein, spring-closed twister-jaws pivotally mounted at the forward end of said shaft, means for automatically releasing said spring-closed jaws to grasp the band as the carriage moves forward, means for rotating said twister shaft and jaws during movement of the carriage, and means for automatically opening said spring-closed jaws to release the band when the carriage reaches the limit of its outward movement.

8. In a band-twister, the combination with a traveling twister-carriage, of a twister-shaft mounted on said carriage, spring closed twister-jaws pivoted at the forward end of said shaft, means to normally hold said twisterjaws open, means for retracting said jaw-opening means to release said jaws at the limit of the forward movement of said carriage, means for locking said jaw-opening means in retracted position, means for rotating said twister shaft and jaws, and means for releasing said twister-jaw-opening means at the limit of the outward movement of the carriage.

9. In a band-twister, the combination with suitable supporting-tracks, of a twister-carriage mounted on said tracks, a driving-shaft mounted on said carriage, a pinion on said shaft, a fixed rack with which said pinion meshes, a rotary twister-shaft on said carriage receiving motion from said driving-shaft, spring-closed twister-jaws pivoted on said shaft, a spring-actuated sliding cone on said twister-shaft to normally hold said twisterjaws open, means to retract said cone and allow said spring-jaws to close at the limit of forward movement of the carriage, a lockinglatoh to engage said cone and hold it in retracted position, and means to throw said locking-latch, and release said jaw-opening cone at the limit of outward movement of the carriage.

10. In aband-twister, the combination with suitable supporting-tracks, of a twister-carriage mounted on said tracks, a driving-shaft mounted on said carriage, a pinion on said shaft meshing with a fixed rack, a rotary twister-shaft on said carriage, a pawl-andratohet driving connection between the said twister-shaft and said driving-shaft, springolosed twister-jaws pivoted on said shaft, a spring-actuated sliding cone on said twistershaft to normally hold said twister-jaws open, means to retract said cone and allow said spring-jaws to close at the limit of forward movement of the carriage, a locking-latch to engage said cone and hold it in retracted position, and means to throw said locking-latch and release said jaw-opening cone at the limit of outward movement of the carriage.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM DOUGLASS.

Witnesses:

HENRY CALVER, A. V. OUsHMAN. 

